Time-lock for submarine mines.



C. R. GABRIEL.

TIME LOCK FOR SUBMARINE MINES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. ze. 1911.

1.010,089. Patented N0v.28, 1911.

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C. R. GABRIEL.

'TIME LOCK FOR SUBMARINE MINES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 2s, 1911.

Lm0,039. Patented N0v.28,1911.

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C. R. GABRIEL.

TIME LOCK FOR SUBMARINE MINESA APPLIGATION FILED 111111.28. 1011.

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CHARLES R. GABRIEL, F NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR T0 E. W. BLISS COMPANY, 0F BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF WEST VIRGINIA.

TIME-LOCK FOR SUBMARINE MINES.

intensa..

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 28,1911.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES R. (rlliminm` 'a citizen of the United States,residing in the borough of Brooklyn, county of Kings, city and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Time-Locks for Submarine Mines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to submarine mines, and particularly to means for preventing the undesired firing of such mines, by countermining or by the explosion of. an adjacent mine. For this purpose, it is customary to provide a locking device for preventing the tiring of the mine, which, when put in operation, is withdrawn slowly under the control of a retarding device, said locking means being known as a time lock. l

The object of my invention is to replace the present "locking device in use with submarine mines by one which shall always be ready for action, and not subject to the defects inherent in the construction hitherto employed.

To carry'out my invent-ion I have devised and connected .with the locking mechanism a. retarding device comprising a one-way clutch permitting of quick locking action, and a retarding means which is wholly mechanical in its operation.

In order that my invention may be clearly understood, I have shownit vapplied to a well-known form of submarine mine, and in the accompanying drawings; Figure l is an elevation of a hydrostatically controlled mine partly in section; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the part containing the locking mechanism; Fig. 3, a cross section on the line 3 3, of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is aside view'or` a part of Fig. 2, the cover being removed, and showing the relation of the gear train and the rack; Fig. 5 is a back view, partly in section, of the gear-train, and Fig. 6'is a detail on the line 6-6 of 'Fig'. L

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings: A is a mine of well-known construction provided at the 'top with a shield B havin holes Cy fashioned therein 'for admission o the water pressure to the flexible diaphragm D. The diaphragm D is actuated by -hydrostatic pressure, and is controlled by two springs E and F Of these springs, E is the weaker and is in action as soon s the mine is submerged tofthe desired depth, while .F ismuch stiifer and Aadapted to be -may be developed. these conditions may Y the mine permanently disarmed, due to the actuated only by excessive pressures. I is the diaphragm stem, J the trigger, O is the pendulum locking lever connected to the lrod L. R is the pendulum locking cup, in

which rests, when not in operative condition, the pendulum Q which 1s mounted universally at R', and through toggle rod I controls the bell-crank T and link U, which latter in its turn moves the trigger actuating slide V, which at W engages a erforated lug X attached to the trigger 'A' is a lever actuating the locking bar B which' when pushed up comes behind the slide'V and locks the firing mechanism. The downward movement of the bar B is controlled by a retarding or slow-motion device constituting the time-lock. D are springs against which the locking bar is forced up- Ward and which return is downward against the action of the retarding mechanism.

Hitherto in'mines such as I'have illustrated, there has been employed a retarding device consisting of a dash-pot, lallowing the locking bar to rise into place easily and quickly, but retarding its descent to a prearranged speed. Such devices after a period of use are liable todevelop defects which interfere with their proper operation. The mines are isometirnes submerged for months, or even years, and cannot be kept under constant supervision. v`'Ihe lubricating oil, for instance, may become gummed, some of the parts rusted, or undue friction The dash-pot under become clogged, and

locking bar failing to return to its normal position after an adjacent explosion, at which time itis forced' into the locking positionv by the increased pressure on-the diaphragm.k To avoid these defects, I have constructed my time-lock mechanism with a positively acting mechanical retarding or4 time-measuring device, ably through a train of gears engaging rackteeth on the locking bar. My device is certain and efficient in its action, requiring no packing, has no oil to become e andno parts which oer"`the least liability of getting out of working order. I have shown as the preferred form a. rack with a complete train of gears controlled in its retarding action by a balance and escapement. rIhe essential parts ofthe mechanism are a retarding rack and va one-way clutch which acts prefer-- allowing the rack to ascend freely, but bringing the retarding action into operavtion on its descent.

lVithin the cover F are, contained the rack B meshing with the pinion Gr. The pinion is provided with ratchet teeth H- which, when the rack ,is ascending, slide freely over corresponding ratchet teeth I on the boss 'of the rst gear J. The gear J engages a pinion K mounted on the staff of the second gear L', which in its turn meshes with the pinion Mon the same statt' as the escape wheel N', forming one element of an escapement, the anchor of which is conveniently fconstructed as pallets O O on a heavy balance-wheel P. By properly proportioning the strength'of the springs' D and the parts of the gear train, including the weight of the balance-wheel P', the speed ofthe train can be regulated between any desired limits.

The operation of the device-is as follows: Assume the mine shown in F ig. 1- to be loW- ered into the water to a predetermined depth, saytto 6 feet. As soon as the mine begins to descend into the water, the hydrostatic pressure becomes operative on the exible diaphragm D, since the 'holes in the cover B freely 'admit the water. When the mine has reached the desired depth, the flexible diaphragm, forces down the spring E which is exerting pressure ready to force` down the iring hammer, as soon as the latter is released by the trigger J. `At 'the saine time by the usual connection from the stem I to the rod L the latter is forced down and causes the pendulum locking lever O to turn on its pivot O', bringing the lever O to rest against the upwardly projecting lugs A of. the rack and gear controlling leverv A (see dotted lines Fig. 1). Thus by the descent of the hydrostatic. diaphragmi-the liring mechanism is released, the locking lever O remaining in the position shown in dotted lines so long as. the mine remains submerged to-the prescribed depth. The pendulum Q is now free to swing, and al push, for instance, by a vessel striking the top or sideof the submerged mine, would cause the pendulum to swing, andsuch swing, in any direction, will displace lever T, which pushingthrough links U, moves outwardly the trigger controlling slide V which pulls 'off theitriggerJ, thus causing .the firing mechanism to explode the charge. v

. Should the enemyseek by'countermining, to explode a mine field, or should an adjacent miue'in the vfield be exploded by vcontact, the results are as follows It has beenu determined by experiment, that the explo-l sion of one of duces a condition of extreme pressure on the a group of mines iirstvprowater which is imparted to the neighboring mines. This is followed by a violent agita' tion of the surrounding water, due Vtothe statically controlled tarding the unlocking enormous displacement which vtakes place,

and which extends to a considerable distance and depth. It is this agitation which causes the other mines to be red, as thesudden swaying of a mine will have the same effect on the firing mechanism as if the mine were struck by the hull of avessel. As the first effect of an explosion is to produce an abnormal pressure on the hydrostatic diaphragm D, the locking of the ring mechanism is accomplished beforethe agitation of the -water begins. For this, the stii' spring F which is unaffected by the ordinary pressure on the diaphragm D, is compressed by the sudden pressure of the explosion,

which drives downthe diaphragm against and through the farther down the the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, thus rocking lever A to the Kextent there shown. The result of thismcvement is to lift the rack into its upper position (also shown in dotted lines), so that it rises behind the triggerLactuating slide V, thereby preventing the displacef ment of this slide and hence preventing the release of the trigge adjustment of the gear train, the time that will elapse before the slide V will be unlocked and the mine again put in operative condition, can be made as lon as desired. This time should be. for a perlod sufficient to allow the water-to come to a `state of comparative rest.

Having thus *fully described and illustrated my invention, what vI claim is .1. In a submarine mine, a hydrostatically controlled member, a firing -mechan'i sm,

By a predetermined' locking means for said firing mechanism,

and a train of gears for retarding the unlocking operation ofV the locking means adapted to be set in operation by the hydromember.

2. In a submarine mine, a firing mechanism, means for locking said firing mechanism, hydrostatically controlled means for actuating said locking mechanism upon ab-V normal pressures, and 'means including'a train of gears for action of said locking mechanism: 3. In a submarine mine,

controlled member,a ring mechanism, lockretarding the unlocking a hydrostatically ing means for said firing mechanism, a train i of. gears ada hydrostatica y controlled member for re.-

mechanism, and'means for regulating vthe rapidity of the retarding action.-

4. In a submarine mine, a hydrostatically controlled member, a firing mechanism adapted to be held operative at mean .presf su-res by the said hydrostatic member, a locking device for said firing mechanism,

-means controlled by the hydrostatic member 'for holding the.,V firing mechanism inoperted to be set in motion by theI action of the locking ative under excessive pressures, and mechanism including a train of gears for retarding the unlocking action of the locking mechanism.

In a submarine mine, a hydrostatically controlled member, a firing mechanism adapted to be maintained operative at mean pressures, a locking device for said tiring mechanism, means controlled by the .hydrostatic member or holding the firing mechanism inoperative under excessive pressures, and mechanism includinga rack and gear train for retarding the unlocking action of the locking device.

6. In a submarine mine, a flexible diaphragm adapted to be operated by hydrostatic pressure, a firing mechanism, locking mechanism for said ring mechanism, means operative within predetermined mean pressures for releasing said locking mechanism, means operative upon excessive pressure imparted to said diaphragm to lock said firing mechanism, and means including a train of gears for retarding the releasing action of said named locking means.

7 In a submarine mine, a hydrostatically controlled member, a tiring mechanism, locking means for said tiring mechanism,

means for retarding the unlocking operation of the locking means, and a one-Way clutch connecting the locking means with the retarding mechanism, all adapted to be set in operation by the hydrostatically controlled member.

8. In'a submarine mine, a hydrostatically controlled member, a firing mechanism, locking means for said firing mechanism, and means including a rack and a one-Way clutch for retardinor the unlocking action of said locking mec anism.

9. In a. submarine mine, a hydrostatically controlled member, a firing mechanism, locking means for said firing mechanism, and means, including a rack free to move upward and a one-way clutch operating on L the downward movement of the rack, for retarding the unlocking action of the locking mechanism.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two sub scribing witnesses.

CHARLES R. GABRIEL.

Witnesses:

RICHARD BIGGoNn, C. S. SNIFFEN. 

